After Rachel died and I searched around for some travel directions, in the sense of what and how I would do it, the ‘empty seat’ syndrome was very much in the forefront of my mind. To be on a motorbike with the empty seat behind wouldn’t be such an issue, there would be nothing to occasionally stare at and dig up the emotions which I was spending so much time trying to control. Also the physical and mental skills necessary to ride a motorbike are, in my humble opinion, greater than those required to drive a car, cue petrol heads scoffing at such a suggestion. There is no doubt that the consequences of ‘the wheel coming off’, carries much more significance when you only have two! So for me, motorcycling is much more immersive and engaging than driving four wheels and as such would occupy my mind to a greater degree.
As you know, the motorhome went. If I was going to travel again then it wouldn’t be in something so big, but I also had this vision of driving down the road with an empty seat beside me, and my emotional state at that time was such that it served as a bit of an albatross around my neck. So motorcycling it would be, and for those two years the bikes turned out to give me some amazing experiences, there’s no doubt that they were the right choices.
This year I’ve been travel starved, but now a re-emergence into the world of the open road beckons. Being at home twiddling my thumbs is not something that sits comfortably with me, travel ideas frequently pop into my brain and sometimes I get a little bit ahead of myself, but I look upon it as ‘youthful’ enthusiasm.
I booked a ferry to Spain for the end of November, with the intention of nipping down to Andalusia for a few weeks then, on my way home, calling in at St Malo to spend Christmas with the family. The plan was to go on the BMW bike, but things have moved on.
What made me decide to nip out and buy a Porsche sports car? Hardly a mid-life crisis! Well, it’s been a hard year, it was my birthday and it seemed like a good idea at the time, and if nothing else, I am a bit of an ideas person, sometimes with not very good ones. So the Spanish trip will be in the car, a biking mate may fill the empty seat for the first week after which I’ll have a few weeks solo. Emotionally I think I’m now ready for that hurdle, and I suspect it will be a hurdle.
Although the trip isn’t set in stone, as I can change the crossing at will, it certainly is my intention to go, and pending any unforeseen health issues the travel blog will resume.
Here’s hoping.
